Valve already had the Steam Deck portable console that started the era of portable consoles for PC gaming. Now, Valve has been found to have filed two trademarks for the Steam Frame, the first for a computer game console with a controller and video game device. The second filing is for computer hardware.
This is the clearest sign that Valve may be ready to offer a home console again since the Steam Machine was discontinued in 2018. The Steam Machine was less well-received due to its limited market share and satisfactory software support at the time.
Last year, benchmark scores for the AMD Lilac-equipped Project Freemont were leaked, showing it to be more powerful than the Steam Deck. Speculation at the time was that a Steam Deck 2 was in the works and that it would have a Nintendo Switch-like dock to connect it to a TV.
With the success of the Steam Deck, perhaps Valve is more confident that a more powerful console will also be met with the same reception. Especially with the Steam Deck now being 3 years old. Although the Steam Frame trademark has been filed, no design patents have been seen before.